Canucks Woes: How Much More Disappointment Can Vancouver Fans Take?

After losing three crucial games to divisional rivals, who would have thought the Canucks were going to come out flat and get whipped 4-0 by the Wild?

Another four point game gone down the tubes. Now the Canucks are in ninth place with four games left and are at the mercy of other teams for a playoff spot. I sure didn’t see that one coming, though I guess I should have expected it.

Year after year, the outcome doesn’t change nor does it get any easier to bear. One would think that Canuck fans would be used to losing, sometimes missing the playoffs by a point, and then the cherished times of making it to the second round only to taken out.

We won’t even talk about the '94 playoffs. It’s still too painful.

The team has been around for nearly 40 years, and what do they have to show for it? Two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, which of course they lost both times. Even the Ducks, Canes and Lightning have won the coveted Cup and they came into the league years after the Canucks.

Only the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings have been around longer with no Stanley Cup victories.

However, the difference between other teams that haven’t won the cup and the Canucks is that the Canucks boast the third most expensive tickets in the NHL. Plus, they have extremely loyal fans; GM Place has been sold out for over 200 consecutive games.

That's only because it’s a Canadian Team, while not a rational argument to some, it's a valid one to a Canadian.

So basically, the Canucks can lose and lose, yet fans remain loyal and continue to believe. Oh yeah, did I mention how expensive the tickets are?

Is that called loyalty or insanity? Being a faithful fan for over 20 years, I have always said loyalty, but taking a look back at the time and money spent, plus all the heartbreak, well, perhaps it’s time to rethink this whole loyalty thing.

Though putting money and time aside, the heartbreak has got to be the worst. A guy might call the heartbreak something else, not sure what, but it’s heartbreaking to see your team lose year after year.

The saddest thing is that for the past few years, Canucks fans are happy just to make it into the playoffs. Making it into the second round is a bonus. But when they don’t advance past the second round, it’s still disappointing because somewhere deep down, you were really hoping and praying that this would be the year.

But it hasn’t been. So you try to make yourself feel better by saying, "Next year. For sure, they will win the Cup next year." Well, "next year" never seems to come.

Isn’t it time that the Canucks organization puts together a team that actually has a chance of winning the Cup? A team that is worthy of all the loyalty and the price tag of season tickets?

They need to forget about getting by with a half-way decent team. The outcome of that is more than just fan disappointment in the moment, but disappointment further down the line as well. It affects their draft pick.

The Canucks have only had one top ten draft pick since 2000, and that was Luc Bourdon, who has yet to become a regular in the Canucks' lineup.

Basically, the Canucks aren’t getting any closer to winning the Cup with the current roster, nor does the future look all that bright as the farm team has slim pickings.

This mediocrity that the Canucks seem to be stuck in just breeds more mediocrity. They need to go into a rebuilding stage; hit rock bottom and get some good draft picks, like the Penguins did and the Blackhawks are doing.

But to rebuild, they actually have to have a decent scouting team. The Canucks scouts can’t find talent worth a damn, and that is probably the most detrimental to the Canucks and their chances of winning the Cup.

Plus, on a side note, when choosing the next captain, make it a Canadian. Nothing against non-Canadian players, but history shows if you want to win the Cup, the “C” better be by a Canadian.

So when it all boils down, does it really matter if the Canucks make it into the playoffs this year?